You will love a better set of tires.

 

oh sorry, I meant the tokico blues, just realized you meant koni yellow. Which would you recommend? And would they work with stock springs?
Could I do front camber plates on stock setup? I know that'd put me in BSP but I ran BSP for my first two because I had TPs. I don't really care about how stiff competition is, or what my pax comes out to be, I'm not in it for points, I just want to be a better driver.

 

Stock class only allows shocks, front sway bar, cat back exhaust, and unlimited tires on stock or stock size wheels - nothing else. The most you can do intake wise is a drop-in filter. You're already technically in BSP (or STR). 350z's don't have camber plates, but yes, adjustable upper control arms put you in BSP.

 

If they are legal...

 

Like I said though man. I don't are about class or pax or points. I just want to be a more capable driver, and have parts to aid me.

 

Try what Scott said first, Tires. They are the single biggest difference, dependant on what you choose. If you want to go with an economical shock consider the Koni Yellows, they'll be fine with the stock springs and work great. As for the camber plates, the suspension does not allow for the use of those. They are for McPhearson setups (Honda's, Acura's, Subies, etc), whereas our double arm setup allows for some great setup benefits otherwise. If you care, here's a cool read on the suspension...http://auto.howstuffworks.com/nissan-350z-design2.htm

Also look for a few of these reviews on the setup and decide if its what your looking for. 350Z Koni Shock Install

 

#1 trick - fix the driver. Many of the "problems" that people have with the Z often come down to the driver.
#2 trick - Really good tires, but only as a good driver will they make the most difference (trust me, I've been there).

If you want to run in stock class, the rotors are illegal (350Z comes with blank rotors, not slotted). So is the intake.

I've been doing SCCA Solo for 10 years now, five with my 350Z.

 

I'm a mediocre driver at best. I agree that seat time is the one thing that will improve you the most. Depending on your goals, if there is a street tire class in the clubs you race in, you may want to consider that. Then, get yourself a good set of tires and spend lots of time driving. I like street tire. It improves my skills at handling the car like I would in an emergency situation on the road where I won't be wearing race tires. Also, if you are serious about competing in the normal classes, then you need race tires and will have to make your car stock legal, which it isn't now.

I just enjoy myself. I've been too busy to race this year, but I am fortunate to have another Z and a G35 that provide really good competition for me (as in they always beat me). It is just way too much fun.

 

again, it doesnt really matter to me about class or pax. I simply dont mind what my parts do to my classing. I just want to be a better driver. I just bought a set of 18x8.5 and 18x9.5 rims, im going to put A6s on them over the winter. finish out this season on my 255 UHP summers on stock rims.

I think i'll end up being street touring r.

 

I'm going to veer slightly OT for moment. Intimazy, what are your mods (you can PM me if you wish)? The lady, Dawn, came down and ran Susquehanna SCCA today. I'm surprised you aren't much quicker than her if you are in SSM. I think she was 1.3-1.5s behind me on a transition heavy, low 40s course. I wish I had brought the sticker A6's and wider wheels with me, but the 140+ run A6's were better than expected in truth. She had autox4u all over her car, which got me curious after seeing the results early in the week. You should come down to Hershey once this year. I try to make it to a few per year. The (main) lot is large and quite grippy. Also, smooth like the Meadowlands.

 

If you want to be a better driver, then learn to be a better driver with what you've already got. Do NOT put on Hoosier A6s and expect to be better overnight! Even though I've got a decade of autocross under my belt (and quite a bit of road racing and car setup experience as well), I STILL run a lot of practice events on street tires to prevent me from learning any bad habits (and break any that I may have) from being on DOT-R tires.

I've seen WAY too many people spend big bucks on their car only to end up with an undrivable mess. Run the local street tire stock class on the stock suspension for a year or so, and get as many of your local "hotshoes" to ride with you (if your region allows it -- most do for regional events) AND LISTEN TO WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY! While many won't have driven a Z before, if they're any good they'll have a lot of comments to help you improve.

However, if you want to continue to be frustrated, go ahead and spend the money to "try to make the Z better." The 350Z is pretty good right from the showroom floor, which is a lot better than most of the competition (which often require new shocks, new sway bar(s), new exhaust, and new wheels just to be competitive). Of course, those drivers have often made the modifications, but YOU DON'T HAVE TO!!! Put your money into local autocross schools and if you have an Evolution school put on locally, ATTEND IT!

 

im gonna have to disagree. if the car had better suspension and tires more importantly, im sure you would have pulled better times, saying otherwise is just ignorant, juvenile, and arrogant. tires are mostly to blame id say for a spin out. i slide all four of my stockish tires

 

Never said i'd be the best with a set of hoosiers. They would help control the car better. If my tail sliding out (or going completely around) and the weight distribution being thrown around like an unsedated elephant in a cargo plane are much less of a factor, I can focuse more on my lines, the apexes, braking zones, etc, rather than, "...hm, really hope i dont spin into a light pole, lets avoid that" and then my focus isnt about my lines.

"Wasting money" i just have to disagree with. My buying wider wheels and tires for autoX is not a waste. This is a hobby and I wish to invest in things that will improve my performance. For the time being, i'm going to go to as many autoXs and other driving events as I can, but right now, from here in my cubicle, I cant go out practicing. I'm also doing the Evo Driving School.

As for talking to the vets in the paddock/grid, oh I do. They help a little bit but we cant take passengers unless they're a co-driver or instructor. So I take instructors and I do listen to what they say. They usually praise me but my times beg to differ. So I'll keep taking the instructors and Im going to the Driving school, and i'll get the stickier tires and wider wheels. After driving my car that seems to be the weakest link. Like i said before, if i can drive a car that isnt like its on ice-skates the ENTIRE course, I can focus on honing my skills.


So Thanks guys. It seems like i'm not the only one who is content with the stock susp setup. I appreciate all your help.
I'll keep going to the events and taking instructors.
I'm going to be attending the Evo Driving School
I'll get some stickier tires
I'll get new shocks,
Possibly take rear sway bar out if that still needs to be done

@Intimazy, see you on Aug 6?

 

I see your point but I think you're fixed on the wrong aspect. Sure if you put a guy in a Ferrari or Lambo, they might go a second or two quicker than they would in their Z (same with heavily mod'ing the Z), that's not 03threefiftyz's arguement. He is saying the limiting factor is the driver. And this holds true by simply seeing what other 350's are running. If you can drop a different driver in the same car and go 10 seconds a run faster, eh... that's a driver limitation. Now with that said, adding a suspension and better tires will definitely improve times, but like we said that's not the stock Z's limitation.

The fact of the matter is, with time he will get faster. As he slowly gets used to how the car reacts at the limit, he will make less and less mistakes and drop seconds. I also think PDX_Racer brings up a great point,Sticky tires masks errors.

 

I must have missed this part of the discussion. This could make the car very lazy in transitions.

Note: A 540 spin is not sway bar induced... that's all throttle control.

 

I agree with all you've said and yes, the sway bar was mentioned earlier. A great deal of my spinout was attributed to tires though. I had the new ones mounted the DAY BEFORE (crazy bad mistake but the ones that were replaced were not usable for daily use let alone autoX) and I didnt break them in well enough. They were still very stiff and new, not much grip. I'm sure i gave it too much gas, but i thought the tires were biting. They just started to slip away and it stepped out pretty violently to the left. Had i not corrected i would have spun left, but the correct just made me spin right.
It was an exponential slide. Started off fine and then sarted getting worse and then worse at a faster and fast pace, all within i would say under 2 seconds.
Flying through a sweeper, couple seconds later stalled out, not even knowing which way i was facing in a cloud of tire smoke. It was both a rush and kind of scary.

 

Sounds like you might have an open diff as well. Really tough to catch a power slide with those (you have to be really on top of the wheel) because of the lack of communication they give. If its not an open diff, it may be you are just not used to the way the car/tires break loose, which is fine. With a couple more spins you'll get better in feeling them out. Early, fast and small inputs is what I found to work best instead of big yanks on the steering wheel (which can lead to over-corrections).

 

RE: Your spin. This is what happened when I let another autocrosser hop out of his Miata on Race tires and into my Z on street tires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK_6Ei5j9YY

This was on our test and tune track. My Z put down great times on that track before and after the other driver spun it.

It wasn't the tires.

More grip means you can take a corner a little faster. Less grip means you have to ake it a little slower. It's up to the driver to make the adjustment.

 

My own ignorant opinion is that if a new driver doesn't spin the Z a couple times, he isn't learning the limits. The Z likes to step out if you give it a bit to much power in a corner. After a couple of spins, you learn where that point is and stay below it. Stay away from race tires until you have more experience.

 

I was really into the drift scene. I understand the limits of the car and exactly where it spins and to what angle with whichever amount of throttle. I also understand how the tires play a role in it. I was a pretty good drifter but since all of my friends Autox and theres more of that around and that seems like a much better place to be, thats what id like to do.

Thats the whole reason i started this thread, i was wondering about the suspension bits most importantly. i know i just need the seat time and the practice going around a course but i know my tires, and i REALLY know where the cars "spinning" limits are.